2010 NFL Draft Grades: San Francisco 49ers Report Card

With all seven rounds of the NFL draft over it is time to look back at each pick that the San Francisco 49ers made. I will give each pick a grade and then an overall grade for the entire draft class. The nice thing about the new three-day format is that it gives us time to digest the first three rounds and re-evaluate.

Round One, Pick 11: Anthony Davis, OT (Rutgers)

Grade: B+

The more I think about this pick the more I like it. Davis has great size for a RT and is the perfect player for a team that wants to run the ball. The Niners fill their biggest need with this first pick. I gave this pick a B+ instead of an A because they had to give up a fourth round pick to move up two spots and there have been some motivation concerns about Davis.

Round One, Pick 17: Mike Iupati, OG (Idaho)

Grade: A-

Iupati is the best OG coming out of college and was coveted by many teams, including the Steelers who were picking directly after the 49ers. This move again signals a move towards running the football more as Iupati is a very talented run blocker.

Round Two, Pick 49: Taylor Mays, S (USC)

Grade: B-

I was very unsure about this move when it first happened but my stance has softened. My belief was that the Niners should have gotten a CB here and looked for a safety who was a better coverage guy in the third, but Mays was a great value in the middle of the second. There are some thoughts that Mays' bad season was caused by Pete Carroll using him improperly and asking him to do to much. As Niners fans we have to hope that was the case.

Round Three, Pick 91: Navorro Bowman, LB (Penn State)

Grade: D-

I hate this pick! Was Bowman a value at this point in the draft? Yes, but where are they going to use him. If they drafted him to play inside, it was a wasted pick because the team already has some depth at that position. If they drafted him to play outside, they passed on Everson Griffen, Ricky Sapp, and Corey Wootton all who could immediately help out the pass rush. The real reason this was a bad pick was that they passed on getting a CB like Brandon Ghee. The only reason I did not give this pick and F was that they traded back and got some extra picks to do it.

Round Six, Pick 173: Anthony Dixon, RB (Miss St)

Round Six, Pick 182: Nate Byham, TE (Pitt)

Grade: B

Another sign that the 49ers are moving towards running the ball more. The team attempted to sign Anthony Becht away from the Cardinals but he re-signed with his former team. Instead they draft Byham, a blocking specialist. This move gets a B from me because they could have obtained Clifton Geathers at this pick and Byham likely would have been available at the end of the sixth.

Round Six, Pick 206: Kyle Williams, WR (Arizona St)

Round Seven, Pick 224: Phillip Adams, CB (South Carolina St)

Grade: Pass

I am not going to try and breakdown a player from South Carolina State. The Niners needed a CB and they finally took one in the seventh round. I do find it interesting that they again passed on another Cal prospect, Syd'Quan Thompson who went directly after Adams at pick 225.

Overall Grade: B+

San Francisco had an excellent first round and that was the most important thing for them going into this draft. Hopefully they can make a few more moves in free agency. Without getting a CB in the first round the team may look to re-sign Walt Harris or Dre' Bly or maybe they turn to Adam "Pacman" Jones. This draft definitely has Mike Singletary's mark on it.